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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2005 
Pumas Roar On
 Luis Bueno - SI.com
| | Bruno Marioni has been lethal for Pumas. The Argentine striker scored five goals in second legs against Corinthians and Vélez Sarsfield. (AP) |
Turns out the best team in Mexico won't get the chance to prove it against its peers. With the playoffs lacking the big-name clubs, Pumas UNAM have all but stolen the spotlight from their fellow, weaker Mexican comrades.
Right now, there is no better Mexican club than the Pumas, who are battling Argentine giants Boca Juniors for the Copa Sudamericana title. Despite a ghastly league season that cost former coach Hugo Sánchez his job, Pumas have come together at the right time and are making the right amount of noise necessary for everyone to pay attention.
Never mind the 4-9-4 season Pumas suffered through, or the 34 goals allowed and the minus-17 goal differential. The team that put up those woeful statistics is gone.
Pumas are playing better soccer than Toluca, Pachuca, Monterrey and Tigres, the final four clubs standing in the Liguilla playoffs. While clubs such as América, Necaxa and Cruz Azul were sent packing earlier than expected, it's Pumas who have faced the toughest opponents in more adverse conditions than any of their league counterparts.
On Tuesday night, Pumas played to an unfortunate draw with Boca in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. The 1-1 score wasn't nearly indicative of the one-sided match at Mexico City's Ciudad Universitaria. An apparent goal was disallowed midway through the second half, a crucial strike that would have given Pumas the advantage heading into the second leg on Dec. 18.
Aside from the apparent officiating mistake, Pumas were just plain unlucky. Poor finishing and bad bounces kept them off the scoreboard -- striker Bruno Marioni practically dented the right post with a wicked laser beam in the second half. Otherwise, their dominance over Boca Juniors would have been reflected in the final score.
Showing the heart of a champion, Pumas were more than a shadow of the side that won the Apertura '03 and Clausura '04 campaigns, the first back-to-back champions since Mexico implemented the short seasons in 1996. Pumas' will and determination were evident as the club carved up Boca's defense. Marioni and Co. were at the top of their game, and the only things missing from Tuesday night's party was goals.
Confidence is not about to start wavering -- not at this point. The prospect of facing Boca Juniors in their ridiculously loud, famed La Bombonera stadium next Tuesday doesn't strike fear in Pumas' hearts.
"Everything is still up in the air," Pumas head coach Miguel España told reporters after the match. "We know the setting will change but our soccer won't. We just need to make sure that our play suffices."
Perhaps no Mexican club is as focused when it comes to championships as Pumas. After making history as two-time champions, Pumas' dominance began to wane in league play this year, probably because regular-season matches seemed inconsequential following the heights Pumas had achieved. But even though the club has not had success in league as of late, the Sudamericana's second leg will be the fourth final match Pumas have taken part in during this year alone.
Meanwhile, the Mexican playoffs proceed without Pumas. Monterrey, widely considered the favorite to win the title now that América is out, has not been asked to perform under the most difficult of conditions. In fact, Monterrey couldn't even handle the pressures of a knockout tournament earlier this year, as the club fell to Saprissa in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Although Pumas eventually lost to the same Costa Rican side, it came in a hotly contested and emotional final.
Monterrey may or may not be championship caliber. The same goes for Tigres and Pachuca, as well as Toluca in its post-José Cardozo era. There is no doubting Pumas' caliber, however. Pumas are a championship club, plain and simple. They knocked out Brazilian champion Corinthians from the Sudamericana, the same side that was being welcomed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as conquering heroes of the country.
Pumas also easily dispatched Vélez Sarsfield, whose 4-0 win last weekend propelled it to third place in Argentina's Apertura, three points off leader Gimnasia. Vélez, incidentally, was the same side that knocked América out of the Copa Sudamericana without many problems.
So forgive Pumas if they couldn't get up for regular-season matches against Jaguares or Atlante. It's the ones against Vélez Sarsfield and Corinthians that ultimately matter the most.
It is now in the final, against another perennial powerhouse, that Pumas are showing their own dominance. They are a club built for championships, plain and simple.
The best team in Mexico? Yeah, that too. |
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